Hoof Trimming

Our goats are registered with ADGA and shown at ADGA shows, for this reason we must disbudd all goats that are not naturally polled. This needs to be done as soon as you can feel the horn bud before it attaches to the skull. It is possible to remove the horns after they have attached to the skull but is generally performed by veterinarians at that point. 

You will need a disbudding iron to disbud goats. We have a 1/2 inch rhinehart x30 that we use for our Nigerian Dwarfs and Alpines. It is also recommended that you shave the goats head before disbudding to give you better visability and less smoke so you will need something to shave them. We use HEAPET cordless dog clippers and have enjoyed having them, but any clippers even corded will work just fine. Kid holding boxes make this task a breeze too, you can easily make one or buy a prefab one to use. 

It is best to plug your disbudder in at least 15-30 minutes before you start to let it fully warm up, I test that it is fully warmed up by burning a scrap piece of wood and checking for a full ring. Make sure you give it a chance to reheat after the tester and in between each kid. Your disbudder should be plugged in directly to an outlet and not into an extension cord. 

While I wait for the disbudder to reheat after the tester I get the kid, shave its head and place it in the kid holding box. Then I burn each side for about 6-8 seconds at a time pushing down in a circular motion until the skin and horn cap come off. I will burn one more time after the cap comes off for a clean cauterized circle. Males have a larger horn bud so it is recommended to burn in a figure 8 to get it all. 

We like to tattoo at the same time as we disbudd so the kids only have to have one bad day instead of two. Check out our blog post on tattooing to learn more about that. We like to pet and cuddle with each kid after we are done until they feel calmer, then we take them to have a bottle.